Cabinet and shelf structure



Aug. 14, 1934. E. E. ALLYNE 1,970,213

CABINET AND SHELF STRUCTURE Filed July 21, 1951 INVENTOR ZZMu/w Z 1411r/v ATTO RN EYS atented Aug. I4, 1934 CHIET AND SHELF STRUCTURE EdmundE. Allyne, Cleveland, Ohio Application July 211, 1931, Serial No.552,146

ll Claim.

The invention disclosed in this application relates to cabinet and shelfstructures, and is particularly useful in refrigerators.

In many types of cabinets having shelves, it is d important that thelatter be arranged to he slid v in and out, and at the same time thatthey be held locked at the rear against vertical movement ordisplacement and prevented from being unintentionally pulled out too farso that the rear end 1d drops and spills the articles arranged upon it.

With'the foregoing purpose in mind, the inven tion comprises a cabinethaving a chamber, the side walls of which are provided with suitablecontinuous rails, cleats or shelf supports, one

l side portion atleast of which, but preferably each, has a stopshoulder lug, preferably downwardly extending, for engaging a suitableretaining lug arrangement carried by the shelf for preventing completeremoval except by special tilting of the 209 shelf, such as an upwardinclination toward the front, which must be intentionally produced bythe operator.

The invention is well illustrated in the embodiment shown in thefollowing description, draw- 2 ing and claim.

Referring to the drawing, Fig. 1 is a horizontal section through arefrigerator cabinet, showing the inner shell with the shelf appliedthereto; Fig. 2 is a vertical section showing the shelves in place; Fig.3 is an enlarged section looking toward the side wall of the cabinetupon the lines 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is an enlarged plan view of theside of the rear portion of the shelf and the forward upper portion ofthe cleat or support; and Fig. 5 is a section through the cleat orsupport and through a part of the rear portion of the shelfsubstantially upon the line 5-5, Fig. 4.

In the embodiment shown in the drawing, 1 represents the outer shell ofa refrigerating cabinet, for example, and 2 the inner shell. This shellextends to asuitable door opening, indicated at 3. The sides and therear wall of the shell are transversely beaded to provide supportingcleats or rails 4 extending continuously along the sides and the back.At the front these beads taper off into the sides, as shown at 5, Fig.3. Just to the rear of the front ends of these cleats are downwardlyprojecting stop lugs 6, preferably arranged in pairs on the side ends ofthe cleats or supports. These lugs are used to prevent complete removalof the shelves, as will appear.

The heading of the inner shell to form the shelf cleats or supports isof great utility in many cab- .55 inets, such as refrigerators, in thatit gives strength and rigidity and prevents the inward bulging of theside and back walls.

Engaging the cleats or supports are suitable shelves generally of a nydesired construction, but in the refrigerator art being of the wire meshtype. This type comprises a wire edge frame consisting of a front edgeportion 7, major side edge portions 8 and minor side portions 9 formedby bending the side wires so that a small rear portion of each shelf isslightly less in width than the overall distance between the cleats orshelf supports. The two sides are connected by a back wire edge memberportion 10. It will be seen from the arrangement of the shelf, withthemajor and a relatively small minor portion connected by shoulders orofisets so to speak, that the offsets or shoulders, as at 10', willprovide a means whereby the shelf may be tilted by these shouldersengaging with the upper edges of the cleats or supports. This tilting ofthe shelf is utilized for complete removal, as will appear.

Projecting inwardly and downwardly from each of the shoulders oroffsets, indicated at 9', Fig. l, is a downwardly inclined lug portion11. This inclined lug portion is connected to the shoulder or ofiset ata point inside of the inner edge of the cleat or support. Extendinglaterally from the end of this inclined lug portion is a shorttransverse portion 12 extending under the corresponding side cleat orbead 4 and thence it turns in a rearwardly extending longitudinalportion 1-3 under the cleat or support, as shown clearly in Figs. 3, 4and 5. Suitable clearances are allowed between the parts so that theshelf may slide freely upon the supports. The construction of theretaining lug arrangement is such that by tilting the shelf and engagingthe shoulders or oifsets with the upper edge of the cleats or supports,it may be slid in from the front past the forward stop lugs 6. After theretaining lugs have passed the stop lugs, then the shelf may be loweredinto horizontal position and slid back to final position. When in placein horizontal position, it is obvious that the rear end of the shelf maynot be moved upward to disturb the things on the shelf and further thatit may be withdrawn to various positions and projected to almost themaximum extent out in front of the cabinet without danger of tiltingforward. As long as it is maintained horizontal it cannot be entirelyremoved.

What I claim is:

In combination, a cabinet having vertical side walls, parallelhorizontal shelf supporting beads projecting inwardly from said walls, ashelf having a major front portion of a width substantially equal tothat from wall to wall, and a minor rear portion no greater in widththan that between the irmer edges of said rails, said shell! portionsbeing connected by offsets adapted to ride on the bead edges and formpivots when the shelf is tilted, a retaining lug extending rearwardlyand laterally from one of said oflsets with a portion of its bodyslidably held beneath one of the beads for permitting forward slidingadjustment of the shelf without depression of its front edge, the saidretaining lug extending from said oflset into the region of the minorrear shelf portion and inclu ding a downwardly and rearwardly inclinedporing lengthwise of and beneath said head; the said retaining lug beingadapted upon elevation of the shelf front to move downwardly away fromthe beads, and an integral stop lug beneath one of the beads near itsfront end adapted to be engaged by the retaining lug and to preventcomplete shelf removal when the shelf is horizontal, said stop lugextending downwardly from the bead to such amount and said retaining lugbeing spaced rear- ,wardly from said ofiset by such amount that one

